Beautiful Mistake
by t3ars0fglass
Summary: Named by TokkaForever965. Toph Bei Fong, unruly sixteen year old rich girl, had never been allowed to really leave her home. By slim chance, she is allowed to attend regular public school. However, making friends isn't the only problem she seems to have. (AU. No bending. Toph is not blind.)
1. Chapter 1

**Ermehgherd. I'm so nervous about this fic. It's my first ever Tokka Fic…. AH! Okay, so if you have never read any of my other stories, I write.. LINZIN! Yeah, it's a good pairing. I love it! Well, because you know, they really did have history. But, since this is NOT in the LoK center, I am going to stop talking about it and get on with the story. Please Read and Review, give me insight on anything you want, new ideas are VERY welcome. This is in modern times, I absolutely love that idea, and I wish there were more of them! I am also going to write a Taang fic. If you don't like them, bite me. ;) So, I am also still looking for names for this story, first one to review a name gets the honors of naming this story. Oh.. yeah. Toph can see. BTdubs. Thought you should know that.**

**Chapter 1: **Trapped

It had been just about two weeks since my family moved into the castle my father bought. This was the fourth in two years. You'd think a man with that much money would donate some of it, but no. He had bigger priorities than helping out the… lower class. I disagreed, but he would never listen to me. All he cared about was keeping me, "Daddy's Little Girl", locked up in this prison cell of a house, my mother, and business. Everything else was out of the question. I hadn't been allowed to leave this place for the past two weeks, but I found my ways to get out. There was a balcony in my bedroom, and since our last house, I had kept the fire escape ladder. It only reached halfway down though, as my room was on the top floor, so I jumped and rolled. Every night, after my ingenious escape, I rode the four miles into town on my skateboard, and explored the foreign place. People were talking and laughing, and couples were holding hands and walking through the city. I was still riding my skateboard through the streets when I crossed the intersection. Bright lights, honking horns, and I jumped freely.

My body hit the ground with a loud thud, and my skateboard rolled passed my head. Faintly, I heard the screeching halt of a car and the slamming of a door. I rolled myself onto my back and tried to sit up, but was pushed back down gently. "Where does it hurt?" The voice was definitely male. Definitely scared for who knows what. But it wasn't familiar. "Can you hear me?" I nodded.

"I'm fine. Now, can I please sit up?" I hadn't realized my eyes were clenched shut, and when I opened them, they were met with the sight of a large crowd of people in the road, and a boy. My age, maybe a year older. He was handsome to say the least, but that didn't really matter to me. What did was that he wouldn't let me sit up, and insisted on getting me to a hospital.

"Sokka! Sokka! Are you okay?" I turned my head to see where the noise was coming from. A girl, my age was pushing through the large crowd and knelt beside who I presume was Sokka. "Oh my god! Did you hit her?"

"No Katara, I almost did, and then she jumped out of the way. My car clipped her foot, but I don't think it did much damage. Probably only bruising. Her skateboard's screwed up though. Probably should replace that for her." Dammit! My skateboard! I shoved his hand off of my shoulder and sat up. Ow. Okay, so maybe I was hurt. He noticed my grimace and pushed me back down. Before I could ask what he was doing, the girl lifted the side of my shirt up and gasped.

"Hey! Stop! I gotta go!" Nothing. "Dammit! Let go of me!" They released me and I pulled myself up. My eyes ventured to my side, where I realized my white t-shirt had been stained red. "Shit."

"I am so sorry. I'll pay for the hospital bill, whatever you need. Here, my name is Sokka, this is my sister Katara. We should get you to the hospital." My frown deepened.

"Can you just take me home?" This stunned him, I presume, because his eyes got really wide, and so did his sister's. He nodded and the brown haired, blue eyed siblings led me over to their car. "Go down that road there, take a left, four miles and you can't miss it." My skateboard, my poor, poor skateboard lay dismantled and shredded in my lap. Turns out what rolled past my head was only a wheel. That's four hundred dollars down the drain. Oh well. The guy, Sokka, turned left and the car hit a bump. "Ow." I muttered. It was another fifteen minutes before we came up to the mansion.

"Well, shit. Your house is huge. It's like eighty times me and 'Tara's." I sighed.

"Yeah it sucks. I hate it here. My parents don't let me leave the house, and the guards are a pain in the ass. On second thoughts, I don't wanna go home." Sokka shook his head.

"Sorry… uh what's your name?"

"Toph. Toph Bei Fong." Katara spoke up next, to my surprise.

"As in Bei Fong Industries, Bei Fong? Sokka, you better hope they don't press charges."

"Yeah that's us. I wouldn't worry about pressing charges, I won't say anything. I'll just get Jeffrey to bandage it up real well." Jeffrey was my butler, and sadly, probably one of my best friends. Sokka reluctantly let me go without giving me compensation. I told him it was unnecessary since I was dripping in cash. I hobbled off towards the cellar door and pried it open. There was a secret hallway that led to the living room, and I slipped past all of the maids and butlers without getting caught. That was until I saw Jeffrey standing at my bedroom door, toes tapping, arms crossed, and a knowing look across his face. "I was jus-"

"Get inside. Now." I followed him into my room, expecting a lecture about why I shouldn't run off, but he sat in the twin chairs at my tea table and smiled up at me. "How'd you do it?" I laughed.

"Fire escape ladder. Hey I need you to bandage up my sides. I kinda almost got run over." I lifted my shirt and Jeffrey tsked me. "Whatever, you would be doing the same thing had your parents locked you inside your house and never let you leave."

As he was wrapping my sides and cleaning the gashes, I could tell there was something he wasn't telling me. Eventually, I was fed up and demanded to know. "Well, I spoke with your father, and since you are now sixteen, and you abuse every one of your tutors, I convinced your father to allow you to try public school for one year. In that year, if anything arises, such as drugs, parties, alcohol, sex you shall be removed immediately and transferred back to your old mansion. Congratulations Toph! You're going to highschool!" My jaw hit the floor, and I leapt out of my chair to tackle Jeffrey in a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Oh my god. I'm going to public school! Hell yeah!" What day was it? Thursday. School started… Monday! This was possibly the best thing that had ever happened to me.

* * *

Monday Morning:

_Beep Beep Bee- Thud. _No. It's too early. 5:30 in the morning is too early. But wait, school started today. I jumped out of bed and rushed to my huge walk in closet. Every wall was lined with clothes, shoes, jewelry, dresses, you know. The unimportant stuff. Only one wall did I have to myself, and it was in the back. I tore through the drawers, picking out some really tight black skinny jeans. Once I had shimmied my way into those, I stood there, in my bra and pants looking at my shirts. Should I wear band merch? Possibly. Or I could wear my shredded shirt. Yeah, that would be cool. The shirt was a completely black camisole with shreds down the entire middle of the back and the front. Under the shreds, about halfway was a red bandeau sewn into the top. It was one of my favorites and I threw it over my head and straightened it out. My hair, well, that wasn't as easy. It was frizzy, wavy and hard to manage. I had let it grow out over the past year or so, and it reached down just above the small of my back. The tips were dyed royal blue. I had my personal hair stylist come in and straighten it out for me. She was cool, Ty Lee. My age, ran away from home. We've been pretty good friends for a few years, though we're completely different. She likes pink, I like black. She likes romance, I like brain-eating zombie apocalypse. She'll be twenty in a few weeks. I checked my phone and realized I was really late. Before I left, I made sure to check myself in the mirror. Damn. I looked good.

My Ford F450 pulled into the parking lot of the school. Some idiot in a red Camaro cut me off. Therefore, I sort of flipped him a bird. Making sure I took up two spaces, I grabbed my bag and headed towards the doors to the commons. First period, CP Literature with Pakku. Trailer 24. That was across campus. This was going to be a long day.

I finally found Pakku's trailer. He was old and wrinkled with grey hair. But he was nice enough. I set my stuff down next to a guy with a giant scar across the left side of his face. "Name's Toph." I said. He looked up at me, narrowed his eyes, studied me for a second then nodded. What the?

"Zuko Agni." I plopped down in my chair. Mr. Pakku started talking, but since it was academics, I completely zoned out. The bell rang. Time for second period. Algebra with Hama. Room 733. I walked through the halls, but when I came across the class, I did a double take. There sitting on one of the desks talking to some jocks was Sokka. The guy who almost hit me with his car.

"You going to go in, or are you just going to stand here hiding like an idiot?" I turned to face the scarred kid. Zuko. I think.

"Uh. Uhuh." Smooth Toph. Really smooth. I walked through the doorway, trying to make myself as unknown as possible. Apparently, that wasn't possible.

"Toph?" Damn. I twisted myself to look at Sokka, who was looking at me dumbfounded.

"Yahuh?"

"I thought your parents locked you up." He said, more a question than a statement.

"My butler Jeffrey convinced my dad to let me go to public school. Every tutor refuses to teach me because I 'caused' one of my previous ones to go into a mental institution."

"Oh. Well, that's cool. Come sit up here with us." Katara peered around from her brother. How did she end up in the same class as him? This was getting too weird for me, and I didn't like it.

"Nah, I'm good back here. In the back." Sokka picked his stuff up and moved in between the desks with ease as Katara followed.

"Well, then I'll just join you back here." He sat down in the empty desk next to me, and Katara sat across from me. This was one of the few classes where they pushed the desks together so you faced a group. He looked at me, and for some weird reason, totally unexplained by scientists everywhere, my heart sped up and my palms got sweaty. Damn Toph, you don't even know him. Stop acting like some frilly whore. "I really am sorry about almost running you over. Totally my fault."

"Yeah, it was. And it hurt like a bitch too. My poor skateboard. It's just not right man." His head hung low.

"I'll buy you a new one. Today after school?" He offered up. I sighed, suddenly feeling really bad.

"Sokka, I'm filthy rich. If anything, I should be offering to pay for the damages my foot did to your car. Stop looking so pathetic. Jeez, maybe I should just call you Snoozles." Well, that actually sounded nice. And it suited him perfectly. Huh. It worked. "You know, that actually suits you. That's your new name Snoozles." Sokka huffed and leaned back in his chair. Katara was giggling profusely and I smirked. Maybe it wasn't too hard to make friends. "So, what are ya'll? Twins?" Katara shook her head.

"Sokka's a senior. He just sucks at math. I missed the age deadline, so I'm a junior. We're almost exactly nine months apart."

"That's cool. So what are you into?" Sokka sat up, an eager smile on his face.

"Well, I play guitar, I'm on the football team, soccer team, and occasionally I play for the basketball team. After school though, I work at the record shop up on Saint Boulevard." Well, that pretty much just made him absolutely perfect. "Oh, and I sing. A little. How about you? "

"What about me?" Hama was talking now. Something about graphing 3D and finding the midpoint and distance. I didn't understand a word she was talking about, which only served to further my conversation with Snoozles.

"Well, how old are you? What do you like to do… in your free time?"

"Well, I don't really know. I haven't ever been out much." Wow Toph. Your life is just great! "I play the drums, my X-box, and some other stuff. Not much. I'm pretty boring I guess." Sokka chuckled, which puzzled me.

"Miss Bei Fong. Would you please enlighten the class with your conversation, as you feel it is so important that you cannot listen to my lecture?" Damn.

"Uhm." I kicked Sokka from under the table. "No. I'm good. Continue with your graphing whatever thingy lecture." Sokka kicked me back after I finished. "Ow!" Mrs. Hama looked back at me. "Continue."

* * *

The rest of the day was really boring. I met a nerdy kid named Aang. He was bald and had a weird birthmark that ran up the center of his scalp. It looked a little like an arrow to me, but I didn't say that out loud. He was friends with Katara and Sokka. And apparently that Zuko kid was good friends with everybody too. Sokka invited me to go with them to see some movie, but since my parents have a stupid dinner tonight, I'm stuck home getting ready for a dinner with rich politicians. Much to my dismay. Ty Lee did my hair and makeup and picked out a long ivy green dress with Swarovski crystals sewn all into the front. It shimmered whenever I moved, and it had a small train that fluttered behind me.

"Oh! Tophy! You look so gorgeous! Here put these on." She handed me a pair of silver pumps.

"How do you expect me to walk in these?" I said as I stumbled forward a bit. She grabbed my arm and steadied me.

"Like a lady. Now come on, the guests are all waiting for your arrival." As I exited my bedroom, one of the younger butlers, mid twenties, was waiting to escort me down the stairs.

"Lady Toph Bei Fong." One of the weird guys in a suit said. The entire room silenced as I entered through two doors. The steps were more narrow at the top and swirled out and widened towards the bottom. I slowly stepped down the stairs and into the foyer. It was aligned with golden curtains and white clothed tables. This was torture.

About forty-five minutes into the event, I had already danced with more guys than I could count on my fingers and toes put together. They had all attempted to talk me into a date, which I knew meant a "getting in good with your parents so they'll set up a merger between our families and I'll be filthy rich" "date." I need an escape, I couldn't go through four more hours of this. I peered out of one of the long windows. It was pouring down rain and thundering. Something I was terrified of, actually the only thing I was terrified of. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the very few contacts I had in there. Second to last on the list was Sokka. I hit the call button, or touched the symbol. It was an iPhone. Once the phone was pressed against my ear, I listened to the dialer. It rang and rang and rang, and finally someone picked up.

"Hello?" They whispered.

"Sokka?" I didn't want to be calling some stranger.

"Yeah? Toph? We're in a movie. Can I call you back?" He asked, voice still hushed.

"No. You still owe me from the other day when you almost ran me over. Can you come rescue me from my parents' dinner formal? I think I'm going to die." There was silence on the other end. "Please? I'll never ask for anything ever again."

"Fine. We'll be there in thirty minutes." Wait!

"Sokka! Leave your car about a half a mile away from the estate. We have guards! Jump the wall, I'll have Jeffrey be waiting to give you the keys to my truck. Thank you so much." He sighed and then hung up. I put my phone away and looked through the crowds of people. Jeffrey was ordering around some of the waiters. I rushed around everyone, attempting to get to him before I was stopped.

"Hello. My name is Haru Neijong. May I have this dance." I sighed, looking around him for Jeffrey.

"Sorry, but I really gotta go." I swerved around him and ran up to Jeffrey. "I need a favor. Go get my car keys. I need you to get my red skinny jeans, and a t-shirt. Black preferably. Put them in the passenger seat. Oh, and a bra. Pull the car around front, give the keys to a guy named Sokka. Or Zuko, or Aang, or Katara. Tell them to pull around back, into the round about. We need a speedy get away." Jeffrey smiled and nodded before heading off. I looked down at my hand and then out the window. _Come on Snoozles. _

"Hey, can you dance now?" I turned around. That Haru guy was staring at me. I stepped forward and he took one of my hands in his before leading me off to the dance floor. He was a smooth dancer, but I was more focused on the window, where I was looking to see if Sokka was there yet. It had been almost thirty minutes and I was expecting him to be here any second.

_HONK! _

Very smart Sokka, now everyone knows I'm leaving. I had gotten away from Haru and was about to step out the door when I heard my father. "Top, if you take one step out of that door, you will be grounded for a month." I looked at my father.

"I've been grounded my whole life dad. You're just too stupid to realize that." With that I picked up the heels I had been holding and ran out of the door. Sokka was staring in awe as I had pumps in one hand and was holding up the bottom of my dress in the other. Not to mention that I looked pretty stupid. He swung open the passenger door for me and I hopped in, then he sped through the garden in my truck. Jeffrey had opened the gate I suppose because Sokka sped right through that too. "Why are you sopping wet?"

"Well, I left my car at the theatre because Katara and Zuko wanted to finish the movie. Luckily, I had my bike in the back of my car." I stared at him, but eventually had to massage my sore jaw from hitting the floor so hard.

"You _biked _here? Why would you do that?" Sokka smirked down at me before returning his gaze to the road.

"Anything to save a damsel in distress. And might I add you look awesome." I punched his arm.

"Whatever. This stupid dress. I have no idea why anyone would want to wear a dress with crystals sewn on. Can you undo this?" I asked fidgeting with the clasps on the back of my dress. He sputtered and froze for a second. "S'wrong Snoozles? Never seen a girl undressed before?"

"Uh- uhm now I mean well.. yes but uh" I was laughing by now.

"Chill out, I'm not that thankful. I'm only changing out of this stupid dress." He reached over and undid the zipper. Before I took it off, I slipped my bra on over the top then shimmied my way out of the dress until I was in only bra and underwear. I heard Sokka gulp uncomfortably. "Like what you see? Relax I'm only poking fun. Besides, it's like seeing a girl in a bikini. Now where are my clothes?" Sokka reached behind him and handed me a stack of clothes. I pulled on the jeans and threw on the shirt, and Sokka pulled into the theatre. He ran inside to meet with Katara, who was dragging Aang out of the theatre.

"Hey. Toph! Your hair looks great! Okay, so what do you guys want to do next." This surprised me. Sure, we had all talked practically all day, and I had given Sokka a nickname, but I didn't expect them to accept me into the group so fast.

"You guys really don't have to invite me. I mean, just because you almost hit me with your car. Sokka just biked four and a half miles to my house, I think we're even." The four just gaped at me well, minus Zuko, his facial expressions never really changed much, unless he was angry.

"Toph, we're not inviting you because we feel like we have to." Katara said.

"Yeah, you're cool Toph. We _want _you to be a part of the group." Sokka continued. I stared down at my feet, embarrassed for jumping to conclusions. "Now, let's go get some food. I'm starving! Meat sound good? Oh sorry Aang." Sokka babbled on and on mindlessly until we reached Pizza Palace, a small pizza parlor on the same block.

The restaurant was quite small, but still very cozy. There were couches and small coffee tables lined up everywhere. And people sat conversing with one another. I sat at an empty, red couch while Zuko and Aang went to order pizza. I opted to pay for everyone, but no one would hear of it. "So, your dad was pretty pissed."

I turned around at the familiar voice. On the arm of the couch sat a boy only a year older than me with brown hair and blue eyes and a square jaw. Haru. "What do you want Haru?"

"Well, your father has called everybody in to find you. Police, fire department, and he even considered giving the FBI a little phone call." Uh oh.

"That's nice. But it didn't answer my question. What do you want?" I asked again, poking him rather hard in the chest. He rubbed the spot with a fake look of hurt on his face.

"Well, I just wanted to see if you were doing alright. That and your dad asked me to find you. And guess what? I did." Haru reached forward with his right arm to grab my wrist. Before I could protest, he had it and was trying to drag me out of the door.

"Stop! Let me go! Haru I swear, when you let me go I'll stick my foot so far up your ass, it'll get stuck in your throat! Ow! Stop! Your hurting me!" He had me outside and was reaching for the car door. On instinct, I grabbed him other hand pulled him forward and kneed him right in the groin. When he bent over in pain, I kneed him in the face. My wrists were bruised, and so were my upper arms. Sokka was standing beside me, asking me if I was okay, but I was looking at the ground where there lay Haru, knocked out and bleeding. "I'm fine. Let's get out of here." Sokka led me back inside to Katara while he boxed up the pizza.

I sat in the car, silently, patiently. Shocked. We were going somewhere I didn't know of. I think it was Snoozles' and Katara's apartment. It was supposedly on the other end of town, but we arrived quickly, so I didn't guess it was that far away from Pizza Palace.

* * *

The apartment was homly, it wasn't filthy, it just looked lived in. I liked it. It made them seem like actual people and no just plastic Barbie dolls. The kitchen was right behind the living room with a little bar and some stools to sit at. There was an island in the middle and off to the right was the kitchen table. There was a loft with two rooms, which I'm guessing were Sokka and Katara's. Down the hall, I noticed two double doors, but they seemed to be locked. Must be their parents room or something. I heard someone calling from the living room, so I hurried back there. Sokka had movies spread like cards in his hands, and wore an evil grin on his face. "Which one yah wanna watch?"

I took the movies into my own hands. Wow. He had some good stuff. "Uh, where did you get this? It's still in theatres!"

"I have my sources. You wanna watch that one?" He took te movie from my had and slipped it into the DVD player. The sound system kicked in and faintly you could hear the background music to _Abraham Lincoln vs. the Zombies. _Awesome movie. "So, how are you going to get back into your house with your dad so angry?"

"I don't know. I'll call Jeffrey and have him do something. But not on my phone. They're probably tracking it. Plus, I hid it in the ballroom." That was not a smart choice. Gah!

"Well, you could sleep over here, and stay here until we get home tomorrow." This guy was the most generous person EVER.

"Well, if you insist Snoozles." I punched him lightly on the arm. He chuckled softly before turning the TV off. I noticed, just then, that I hadn't seen any of is parents around. "Shouldn't you ask first though?"

"We don't live with our parents. Our mom died when I was seven. And my dad is an engineer. He's working on something in Hawaii." He smirked.

"Only to the entire world Meathead." I laughed.

"Oh, it's Meathead now? Yeah well, uh, well, uh."

"Leave the nicknames to me." I leaned back on the couch and closed my eyes. Before I knew it, sleep had come over me and I entered Dreamland.

**YAY! FINISHED! This is NOT a one-shot. It will have more chapters. I promise. That is if I get enough reviews. Make me happy, review people!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, Long time no update? Thanks to Tokkaforever965 for the name. **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT AT ALL, EVER HAVE, OR EVER WILL OWN ATLA****. ****MICHAEL DANTE DIMARTINO AND BRYAN KONIETZKO CREATED AND PRODUCED THE SHOW.**

**Chapter 2: **

I ended up staying in their apartment for almost two weeks. Though, I sometimes felt like I was intruding in their personal lives. The first day, I woke up feeling really depressed, and I didn't go to school, and I didn't leave the apartment. I had very limited connection to Jeffrey, only speaking with him when he had dropped off some of my clothes for me to wear. Sometimes, I wished I could go back home, make things go back to the way they were, but I was the one that screwed things up to go off with Snoozles and Katara and Aang and Zuko. They were all very nice, but I always felt as though I was intruding in their lives. They always told me otherwise when we would all sit together to watch movies and hang out. That was pretty much every night.

I could always sense when something was off, which was what was happening tonight. Snoozles was quiet and not really involved, and Katara was really angry. I didn't understand why though, until Twinkle Toes, my new nickname for Aang after I found out he was star of the track team, had come downstairs and seemed distant as well. I sat next to him and nudged him on the shoulder slightly. "What's going on with everybody?" I whispered. His head fell along with his smile. I noticed this.

"Their dad is coming home, and moving them again. It happens a lot." He responded. It ruined my night, my train of thought, and everything I had come to know in the past two weeks, friendship.

"Where to? Are you not upset by this?" I asked.

"No. I've lived with them for a while, so if they have to go, I help them pack up and we move on out. They're the only family I've got, even though they're not even family. Zuko's lived with them for about a year, but we've already moved twice. They like to take people in, a lot. It's no big deal, just a pain in the butt." He muttered as he attempted to pay attention to the movie. "They'll try and tell you in a few minutes, I guess. It's not like they would just kick you out and leave you to be imprisoned within your own home."

"Yeah. I hope not." I answered back, drawing my knees to chest and hugging them tightly. I didn't know if I would be able to go through with actually moving away from my parents, no matter where it was, but if I had already screwed up my chances of going to a normal school, and my parents wanted to keep me hidden away like some precious flower, it could be nice to start over, live on my own. I had _plenty _of my own money to last, probably, a lifetime without work. However, neither Snoozles nor Sugar Queen came to talk to me. It was getting frustrating, so I decided to finally go upstairs and pack my things. They obviously weren't going to tell me anyways, so what did I have to lose?

The room they gave me was small, well compared to my room in my own house. But, I liked it being small, it was more comforting, and less cold and barren. Jeffrey had left a suitcase with a bunch of my clothes in it, and I quickly shoved everything in there before making up my bed. I stripped the sheets and carried them down to the hall to wash them. I had never had to do my own laundry before moving in with them.

* * *

"_Okay Toph, it's simple. Whites are separated from darks, and colors are separated from both as well." Katara attempted to explain to me. "Whites get washed in warm or hot water, depending on if it's cotton or not. Don't forget to do spot-treatment. Always wash your darks in cold water, so they don't bleed. Okay?" _

"_You lost me at whites."_

"_Toph! Okay, pay attention." Katara started. "Whites equal hot, darks and colors equal cold. Easy enough? Now fill this small container with one, I repeat ONE, cup of detergent, then turn this knob to the left, press this button, and press the knob in." I nodded my head, going along with what she had said so she wouldn't go crazy on me. Then, I started to wash my first load of laundry._

* * *

Being as short as I am, it was very hard to reach all the buttons. I was only five feet tall, so reaching anything was a struggle. Snoozles or Twinkle Toes were always getting me things, or Sparky, Zuko. He gets angry really easily so I started calling him Sparky. The beeping of the wash pulled me out of my thoughts as I shoved he sheets into the washer and set it for thirty minutes. I marched back down the hallway and into my room to start shoving things back into my suitcase. I had a lot of pants and shirts and some makeup and hair dye I needed to pack. Along with some of my home memoirs. It didn't take very long, as seeing I was just shoving everything into my bag. I brushed the sweaty hair off of my forehead and dragged my hand down my face. It was wet. I was crying! It didn't make sense, I had hardly ever cried in my life, and now, over some small problem, I was crying my eyes out. I stood and walked over to the bathroom to grab my toothbrush and makeup and hair supplies, but found myself sitting in the middle of the floor with my head in my hands.

They wouldn't abandon me right? I mean, we were supposed to be friends! Granted, it had only been two weeks, but I was already living with them, and they were so kind, and I just didn't want to go home. It had only been two weeks, I realized. Just two weeks! A strong friendship doesn't build in two freaking weeks! What was I thinking? I meant _nothing_ to them. I pressed my balled fists into my eye sockets to stop the crying and carried my mentally weak body to the counter. Clumsily, I put my things into my bag before going and changing the sheets over to the dryer. When I walked back into my room, I glanced at my suitcase. Things were poking out from every corner, and it looked almost impossible to close. I shoved everything thightly in, making sure nothing was poking from the sides, and then I pounced on top of it and attempted to zip it closed. It took almost ten minutes and the zipper looked about ready to rip apart, but it would have to make due for a while. I climbed onto the bed in the middle of the room and started to fold the comforter neatly before placing it at the end of the bed. The pillows were stacked at the headboard, and once the sheets were finished, they too were folded up and placed on top of the comforter. I swept the wooden floor and wiped down the bathroom counters after scrubbing the toilet. I took out some paper and a pen from the white desk in the corner of the room and began to write.

_Dear Snoozles and Sugar Queen,_

_Thanks for letting me stay here, I really owe you guys big time if we ever see each other after you move, to wherever it is you're moving to. I really appreciate all that you guys have done for me. Twinkles, punch Snoozles every morning for me would ya? It's kind of become a tradition. Sparky, you, try to smile at least once a month? Anyways, if I can ever get out of the hellhole of my parents' house, I'll go to a coffee shop and email you. Thanks again, for everything. _

_Toph Bei Fong_

I set the letter on the bed and grabbed my car keys. Hauling everything over the railing wasn't as big a problem as I thought it would be, because Sokka and Katara were fighting, and Aang and Zuko were trying to keep them from beating each other with knives. I opened the front door, and whispered goodbye before picking up my things and putting them in my Ford and driving off.

* * *

Sokka POV

"Well, if you would stop acting like mom, then we wouldn't have a problem! I can do whatever the hell I want, and you can't stop me! You're not my mother!" I screamed. She had been starting to make me really angry, telling me I couldn't go on a date with Suki, a girl in my class, because I would be leading her on. Or something like that.

"Well, if you would stop being such a kid, then I wouldn't have to act motherly." She retorted as she sneered back at me. I grunted and stomped off to the living room to talk to Toph. Only, as I entered, I realized I hadn't seen her for most of the night.

"Toph? Where are you?!" I called out to her. "Aang, have you seen Toph?"

"Yeah, a while ago. I told her about us all moving, and she seemed a little down afterwards. I didn't see her go anywhere though. I was too busy prying you and 'Tara off of each other." He smirked, accusatorily pointing a finger at me.

"Yeah, yeah. Toph! Come 'ere! The movie's starting!" I started on my way upstairs, noticing exactly how quiet things had gotten. There was the loud music escaping her bedroom, there were no video game sounds coming from her room. Only, the dryer was left open, I had noticed. And so was the washer. I stopped at her bedroom door at the end of the hallway and knocked.

"Toph, you in there?" No answer. "Toph, come on. Answer me. Is this about us moving?" I asked. There was still no answer. I jiggled the door knob, only to find that it was left open, and the room was dark. I flicked the light switch. There were no Black Veiled Brides posters, and the My Chemical Romance posters were taken down as well. Her Batman blanket was not on the bed, and the bed was bare, save the comforter and sheets that rested folded at the end of the bed. As I walked further into her room, or what used to be her room, I started to notice that everything was missing. Her makeup, her clothes, her X-box, and her music. Her large collection of albums and cd's, along with her iHome were gone. "Tara!" I shouted. The sound of feet was audible through every inch of the house as my three "siblings" came shooting through the door. "Toph's gone." I whispered as they stood next to me.

"What makes you think that?" Katara asked, but she too soon realized everything was missing, along with Aang and Zuko.

"This." I handed her a letter, in Toph's handwriting, explaining that she had left.

**Baduhduh. Thanks for reading, now if you could click that little button down there that says REVIEW, whatever that means, pshhh, and get all typy typy, I would really appreciate it! I'll try to update more before I go to bed!**

**-LINZINFOREVER**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, SOOOO I GOT A BIRTHDAY WISH FROM Tokkforever965. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOO YOUUUUUU! HAPPY BIIIRTHDAYY TOOOO YOOOOUUU HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR Tokkaforever965 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! And many moooorrrreeee. Make an account! **** Okay, it's been a while since I updated and I would like to apologize fer that. My Modem for wifi broke. ;( but I am updating now. Again, I apologize. Here is Chapter three, I hope you enjoy it.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER**

**Chapter Three:**

Toph POV

"I need to create a new account and shut down one in current use." I told the banker sitting at the desk in front of me. He looked up at me warily, but nodded and motioned for me to take a seat.

"And why will you be transferring your account?" Crap, I hadn't thought of what to say if they asked me that question.

"I have my reasons." I answered back. He glanced up at me and sighed before typing some stuff into the computer.

"Name?"

"T-Toph Bei Fong." I whispered. He again glanced at me and back to the wall where I saw a missing poster with my name and face on it.

"You know you're missing? Right?" He whispered back to me. I nodded and he smiled politely at me. "I should tell the authorities, but if you have a good enough reason, maybe I'll let it slide." I realized the guy, no older than twenty, was flirting with me, so I smiled politely back at him.

"My parents have kept me locked up in every mansion we've ever owned, and I got tired of it. Then, they tried to 'set me up' with this jackass named Hahn. Well, they didn't tell me they were setting me up, but his family is rich, my family is rich, and a merger would definitely be good for business. My father even sent him out to find me. So, I'm running away. That a good enough answer for you?" I smirked sarcastically. He nodded a bit nervously and continued to type some words into the keyboard.

"Account number?" I told him the number anxiously, after seeing my father stroll through the front doors of the bank. Had they tracked my account activity? Maybe if I lied low, he wouldn't notice me. "Okay, transferring the money now, it should be finished in about thirty minutes." The banker told me. I asked where the nearest ladies room was before sprinting off down the hall and locking myself in the bathroom.

I waited the thirty minutes, and slowly opened the bathroom door to peak out at my father. However, he wasn't in the bank room, and I found it rather safe to creep back out and take a seat back at the transfer desk. The guy wrote down my new account number, the amount of money in it, and handed me the card. I thanked him graciously and left the bank.

I knew of an airport about forty five minutes out of town, in the city, but I was a little nervous to take things that far. Sure, I now had tons of money I could use, and I had a suitcase full of clothes. That could be good to get me on a plane right? I decided to go ahead and look at flights out of the country. There was one to a city not far out of London, England, and since I had always wanted to go there, I opted for it. There was one problem, no passport. I looked around for the nearest payphone and went to use it. In a deep voice, I asked for Jeffrey.

"This is Jeffrey, may I ask who is speaking?" I sighed in relief.

"Jeffrey, it's Toph. I need another favor."

Almost an hour and a half later, Jeffrey had my Visa, and my passport, and my papers and was dropping them off to me at the entrance to the airport. Planes whizzed around in the air, and thudded to the ground as they landed. "Thanks Jeffrey. I hope we can get in touch as soon as I land. It was nice ot have you around for so long."

"You too Toph. Take care, and be extra careful. Call me right when you land, okay?" I smiled gently at Jeffrey before speeding off down the terminal, and hopping on the 7:40 flight to England.

* * *

Sokka POV

"Toph!" I called into the woods. But nobody answered me. Katara and I had been looking on the East side of town, while Zuko and Aang had taken to the West. We were running all over, calling out her name, and asking random strangers if they had seen her somewhere. "Toph!" I shouted again. We had thought that she might have drifted into the woods to get away, since her truck was not sighted at the Bei Fong mansion. I had even taken it upon myself to call Jeffrey, her butler? Well, it didn't matter what he was, it just mattered that we found Toph. But, when we called, he said he knew nothing of her disappearance, and that he had last heard from her the day before.

That was at midnight, of the first night's search.

The next day, I gathered everyone in the living room to devise a plan to find her. "Okay, so Aang, you are going to check out these warehouses, mmkay?"

"Yepp, sounds good." He pointed on the paper. "These ones? Those are almost three miles out of town. It takes twenty minutes to get there, and she could still be there. But you know what happened there Sokka." That was true. If Toph had gone to the warehouse, there was a chance of never seeing her again.

"I know. I do, trust me. Which is why I'm sending you there, because you're the fastest runner, and the quickest thinker out of the three of you guys." They all glared at me for voicing my obvious superiority, but I merely shrugged it off. They were just jealous. "Katara, you'll check by the lake and I want you to go and check by the beach, she might be there as well. Zuko, You are to check all of the wrestling arenas and dojos in the town, and then I want you to check the pizza places and the campfire. I know it's a lot, but you're good at finding things. It shouldn't take us long if we follow the schedule." I pointed out.

"Where are you looking?" Katara sneered. I smiled.

"I have a feeling that Jeffrey wasn't telling the truth. I'm going to check the Bei Fong mansion."

* * *

Toph POV

I woke up with the start of the plane landing. Quickly, my head shifted to see the runway coming in closer with every second. Land! Oh, how I missed being on the ground. I had never really told anyone, but I had always been afraid of being off the earth, whether it be flying, or swimming, or even jumping. The land was sturdy, and I couldn't fall from a thousand feet, or drown by just standing there. The thought brought me back to a new memory, made only a few days prior.

_I had told Sokka that I couldn't swim, but that hadn't stopped his persistence in getting me into the water. "Come on Toph, I'll teach you how to swim! It will be fun." I gave in and dipped my feet in the water, before sliding in. The water reached my shoulders, and I started to panic._

"_Help! I'm drowning! Help!" Sokka grabbed me around the waist to comfort me. The warm, tingly feeling of a red blush started up on my cheeks, and I quickly looked away._

"_See, Toph? It's not so bad. Now, just kick your legs, and you'll start to swim." He told me. I flipped onto my back, but as quickly as that happened, I started to sink. He grabbed me once more. "No, tuck your chin, and raise your hips, and point your belly button to the sky." I smirked, but did as he told me, and soon enough I was paddling around the pool. I stopped with I reached him again. "Good, now let's try this on your stomach, just paddle your arms like this, and kick like this." He demonstrated for me, but the way he swam, he made it look incredibly easy. It was actually very hard, especially if you've never learned before. _

"_I'm doing it Snoozles! I'm swimming!" He laughed at me and cheered me on while I swam little circles around him. _It made me wonder why I had left in the first place.

"Um, miss, it's time to go." A guy, about my age insisted, bringing me out of my thoughts. I looked around and saw everyone exiting the plane. Ah, finally. My luggage was in some huge container, where they drop off your suitcase on the roller belt. I had never learned what it was called, but I always begged for Jeffrey to let me put it in that place, so that I could collect it from the pick up center.

I, once again, took joy in getting my bag before anxiously calling for a taxi. I had no where to stay, that I knew of, but a motel would've serviced just fine. The taxi driver told me that there was a Ritz in the city, and that's where he took me. I paid him and walked inside of the luxurious hotel. "One room please."

"I'm sorry, but this is a five star hotel. It is quite expensive, and by the looks of it, you don't have the money." The snobby desk clerk told me. My cheeks burned red, and my temper cut short as I began to scream at her.

"You don't think I have the money? Do you know who I am? Toph Bei Fong, of the Bei Fong Industries Bei Fongs. I am here for an exclusive visit, and I don't think you should be telling _me _that I don't have money." The woman behind the desk gulped, and quickly gave me a free room for a week. It was nice, to say the least.

* * *

Sokka POV

It had been four days since Toph had disappeared, and today was the day that I planned on going into the Bei Fong house and finding her. I was already outside of the gates, and climbing up the wall when I was caught. They had really good security around this place. I was immediately taken into the mansion to talk with Lao Bei Fong.

"Why were you breaking into my house?" He demanded. I gulped down the bile rising in my throat.

"I-I came to see Toph." He snorted.

"She hasn't been home in almost a month. We've given up on her coming home on her own, but we haven't stopped the search. We have FBI agents all over the city, if she makes a move, we'll get her." I had seriously doubted that Toph wasn't here, until I looked over and saw the red puffy eyes of Lao Bei Fong's wife. She had a shrine of Toph's baby photos and relics from when she was a child, and it seemed as though she wouldn't stop crying. The guards threw me out onto the ground to leave, which was exactly what I did.

As I pulled into the driveway of our small apartment, I saw Katara, Aang and Zuko waiting with eager expressions. They didn't falter as I got out of the car, or when I stormed past them into the couch, or when I broke the vase that was sitting on the table. "Why the hell are you guys so happy!" I screamed. Katara pointed to the garage, which was where I saw our father's car. "Dad." I whispered. He came storming down the stairs and enveloped me into a bone crushing hug. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too Sokka. It's been almost a year." That reminded me. Where were we moving to anyways? I hid the question in the back of my mind for later. "Now, let's all go out and have some dinner. On me. I want to know everything that's been going on for the past year." He led us all out to the garage.

"So, how was Hawaii?" Katara asked from the front seat. Aang had all of his intention focused on her, while Zuko and I talked about martial arts, and bands.

"It was sunny, and nice. The beaches were pretty." He answered. "Not much went on, it was actually a little boring and lonely."

"Oh, well at least your home now," I interrupted. "Where are we moving to anyways?"

"Well, I've been transferred over to Liverpool. So, we'll be going over there in about two weeks." I groaned inaudibly, but suck it up because this was what guys did. At least I'd have a little time to try and find Toph, before her father.

"Oh, that's cool. Let's go to Fire Lord Inferno Pizza Palace." I suggested. My father pulled into the parking lot and backed into the parking space. I sighed before leading the way into the restaurant.

* * *

Toph POV

"Yes, I'm looking for Apartment 6B." I asked the realtor. She picked up a magazine and led me up a flight of stairs. "Is there no elevator?"

"There is, but it is currently out of order, and will be fixed in about a week. I'm sorry, I didn't get your name?" She said. The woman seemed a little dingy, but she at least put on a fake, kind smile for her clients. Her brown hair was pin straight, and she was tall and thin. Her blue blazer and pencil skirt matched perfectly. Yep, she was definitely dingy.

"Toph." I answered slowly. She nodded and re-plastered that fake smile on her face. "So, what floor is it on?"  
"The sixth? It's called 6B for a reason." We both giggled at my stupidity, but that was a little purposeful.

"I knew that." She unlocked the door to the apartment and showed me around.

"There are five bedrooms, and two bathrooms. The kitchen is off to your right. It comes fully furnished, the mattresses in the bedroom come with the apartment as well. The apartment has a total of five thousand square feet." I was really impressed with this apartment, and it was really cozy. It wasn't a hard decision to make as to why I said yes right away.

"What is it going for?"

"Six hundred and fifty thousand euros." Well, with my debit card being freed up now, I could pay in full with one single check.

"I'll take it. Where do I sign." She tossed the papers onto the table and I made my first offer on my own house.

It didn't take long for the owners to accept either. The apartment was signed over to me, and within a week I had moved in, and my truck had been shipped over as well. It would only be a few more weeks until school started and I had already enrolled myself in the new highschool there. I would need money later in life anyways. .

**Ack, that was a hard chapter to write. MEH. I don't like it. Don't be surprised if I changed it up and remove and replace it. Please review guys. Anybody notice Toph and everyone are completely OOC? Yeah, I did. Anyways, that's going to change. ANYWAYSSS THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE POSTED A FEW DAYS AGO!, SO HAPPY DAY LATE BIRTHDAY! Gosh, I have the flu. YUCKYYY!**

**-LINZINFOREVER**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Some Say People Never Change.

Toph POV:

The next few months went very slowly, for me anyways. I hadn't made any new friends really, except this jock named Teo. He was nice enough, sure. He was good looking, definitely. I found my heart beating faster whenever I was around him, my palms got sweaty and my tongue swelled up. His voice, it was so smooth and whenever he said my name, my knees got a little weaker. I was turning into a damned pansy.

Sometimes, he would sit with me at lunch, but on the days he had practice I would find myself in the stands watching without a clue of what was actually happening. All I knew was that he threw a football and some other guy caught it. Nothing else really mattered. After practice, we talked and he walked me to class and that would be the end of it until after school. We would grab a bite at his dad's restaurant and do homework. Sometimes we would go over to my place and just hang out and talk. That was all there was to it. Nothing romantic, nothing serious, just two friends hanging out. Right?

Wrong.

I wanted it to be so much more than that. In the quiet moments we shared, I found myself wanting to kiss him. Or, for him to kiss me. But that was ridiculous. It would never happen. I was a freak and he was star of the football team, or whatever they called it over here.

So here I was. Stuck in the friend-zone. It was odd because I only thought guys could get friend-zoned. Guess not. I walked through the halls of my new-ish school and into my algebra class. I didn't bother to remember the teacher's name; it was a mutual relationship. I left him alone and he left me alone. Simple. I took my seat and answered to roll call like every other student zombie in this god forsaken school and pulled out my phone. I had gotten one after I had moved over here, a nice smart phone that had Facebook and Twitter. I logged into my Facebook and looked up Sokka. I had been checking on his page for a while. Just to see how he was doing. He would be moving in a month or two, but I didn't know where. Everyone was posting on his page, "I'm gonna miss you!" and "Keep in touch!" Stupid stuff that people you don't really know say to you to make things less awkward. I scoffed and turned my cell off. I would listen to the lecture for today. It would take my mind off of things.

It didn't. After class I got in my car and went to meet Teo at the diner. When I walked in, I heart shouts and people screaming profanities at each other. Teo came out, his face red and fists clenched. He looked right at me, and after a few seconds turned around and shouted back to his father. "I'm leaving and I'm never coming home! I hate you!" He then proceeded to drag me out of the diner and over to my truck. "Sorry about that. I just can't take it anymore."

"Take what anymore?" I pretended not to notice the streams of tears leaking down his face.

"My family hates me. They never cared. My dad especially. Sometimes, he'll come home and scream at me and tell me I'm useless and that he wishes he had a different son. Today, he told me he wasn't paying for my college because I didn't deserve it. I'm done. I'm not going back home." He tried to hide himself when he wiped the tears away. I started my truck and started to drive to his house. He realized soon enough and made me stop the car. "What are you doing? I'm not going back."

"I didn't say you were! I just thought that if you were going to come and live with me that you would need clothes." Teo's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. "I mean, obviously this wasn't a well thought out plan, you've got no money, I'm filthy rich, you've got no place to stay, I have my own apartment, and we're friends. So you're going to need some clothes."

"Thanks, Toph. I really appreciate it."

"No problem."

I pulled up to his house and he went to go pack his things. I opted to stay in the car, just because I didn't want to go inside his house. It reminded me too much of Sokka and Katara's. The rooms were the same and the layout was almost identical. I hated it. The anger grew inside of me, I could feel it. Time was stopped and my mind began to wander back to when I lived with them. They were my best friends. No one would ever replace them, yet I was the one who left, I replaced them with Teo. I replaced Sokka. The tapping at the glass pulled me from my thoughts and I unlocked the car for Teo. He jumped inside and quickly told me to leave. It wasn't a problem, that place was the doppelganger of bad memories.

It had been two months since Teo had moved in with me. We still went to school, and he still played on the football team. But somewhere along the line, things started to change between us. The friend-zone I was once trapped in began to dissipate the longer we lived together. I was in dangerous waters, and I was enjoying the thrill.

Teo took the time to explain football to me so that I could actually enjoy what I was watching, and I told him about me being a run away. He was shocked at first, when I told him of my heritage, but it just brought us closer. We could relate in some weird way.

I knew I was officially out of the friend-zone when we got home one night. We were laughing and giggling and I had plopped down on the couch in front of the flat screen. He sat on my legs and started to tickle me, and it turned into a tickle war. We were wrestling, tangled amongst each other and all of the sudden, we just stopped. We stopped and we looked at each other, and we kissed. I had been waiting for it for the longest time, but I never thought that it would feel that good. My cheeks were burning and we were both already out of breath, but my lips still tingled after he pulled away. "Wow." I whispered, touching my lips with my fingers.

"I-I" He stammered. "Sorry." It got colder as he pushed himself away from me. I didn't know why he was moving, but he did.

"Why?" Why? What did I do? We kissed, or rather, he kissed me. Nothing was wrong, yet everything felt wrong.

"I kissed you, and I shouldn't have. I'm sorry, Toph. You let me live with you, and I just go about kissing you!" I started to laugh, the kind of laugh where I clutch my stomach in pain and I can't breathe. Nothing was funny, I just started laughing. "What?"

"You don't have to apologize for kissing me, Teo. I've actually been wanting for you to kiss me for a while." He blushed a deep pink and I took that as my queue to start cooking dinner.

And so, I made it out of the friend-zone. Something I had never heard of. It felt amazing, but I didn't know what was supposed to happen after that. Were we together? Or was it just a harmless kiss? I didn't know, and I didn't care. He kissed me. That meant something.

And now, I went to every game he had, I sat with him and his friends at lunch, and he started introducing me as his girlfriend. That was nice, and I felt like something within me had changed, I became protective of him. I loved him.

I was walking home from the market, the one just under our apartment building, when I heard the cries from behind the dumpster. And the quiet shushing. My curiosity got the best of me, and my legs took me to where the sounds were coming from. A woman, homeless I presumed, was struggling to feed her baby; she looked up at me and smiled. I smiled politely back at her and turned to leave. "Wait!"

"Hmm?" I asked, turning around to face her once more. I didn't know this woman, she didn't know me.

"Take her. Please take her. I can't afford to feed her, and you're a Beifong." My eyes widened. How did she know who I was, did she know me, my parents? "Your tattoo is showing." Well, that explained it. "Please, she'll die if I keep her. Please take her." I nodded slowly and asked her what the little girl's name was. "Hope, her name is hope."

"I'll take care of her. I promise." I cradled the newborn in my arms and walked back up to my apartment. How was I supposed to tell Teo? Would he take care of her as well? I didn't know, but as I looked at the girl, I knew that I was going to love her as my own. And if Teo really loved me, he would love her too. The apartment door swung open just as I was about to turn the doorknob, and Teo rushed outside to greet me. The stunned look on his face only furthered my worries. I took Hope to the couch and sat down.

"Wh-Who is that? Toph, why do you have a baby?" He raised his eyebrow at me. It was hot.

"A homeless woman couldn't take care of her, so she gave her to me. My tattoo was showing, so she recognized me as a Beifong. Her name is Hope." I smiled up at Teo.

"Toph! You can't just take a homeless woman's baby! It's not yours! We need to give her to an orphanage, or give her back." I shook my head.

"No, Teo. I want to keep her. The woman entrusted me, not some lady that has eleven kids. Me. And I am going to raise her." He sighed and sat next to me, gently cooing to the baby. He was great with kids, that was a plus. "Please?"

"Let's go get some things for her room, then. And some clothes and food and diapers. And baby monitors and blankets."

"I get it. Come on." I gave Hope to Teo and grabbed my truck keys so that we could leave. There was a supermarket down the road that sold tons of things. I told Teo, on the way, everything that I knew about Hope. She was crying when I met the woman, and that the woman was struggling to feed her. He nodded quietly to every word I said and listened intently, holding the baby while he did so. I turned into the parking lot and looked for a spot.

When we walked into the store, all of the employees gave us dirty looks and passer-by's stared at us. It was because of Hope, I assumed, because we were only seventeen. I walked passed all of the people staring and into the baby department. In a flurry, I was just grabbing things off of the shelves and throwing them into the cart. Clothes, food, a stroller, a car seat, diapers. All strewn inside a cart. "We're going to need a crib and a rocker and a changing table, Toph." I groaned inaudibly and lugged the bulk furniture into the cart. I raised my eyebrows quizzically at him. "I think she has a dirty diaper. Oh! And don't forget the baby tub. And the formula. I think this is kind of cute. Don't you?" He held up a light green onesie with pink flowers. I laughed and nodded, pecking him on the lips. "Let's paint her room green, and put pink and yellow flowers on the wall." He whispered.

"What is with you all of a sudden? Huh? Wanting to paint the room and getting frilly baby clothes? You're gonna make a great mommy, Teo." I told him when we were walking to check out. He chuckled alongside me, one of the things I really liked about him. He wrapped his arm around my waist as we stood at checkout. The entire time, the woman was giving us dirty looks. She had her eyes glued to me while she scanned the items. I returned her looks and led Teo out of the store. "Damn, some people are so judgmental."

Back at the apartment, Teo set up all of the supplies and was busy decorating the room before we put all of her things in there. I bathed her and changed her diaper so that I could put her in clean clothes. Then came the feeding. I had heard, in health class, that babies needed to be fed every three to four hours. I followed the directions on the formula box and warmed the milk. She seemed to like it because she wouldn't stop drinking from the bottle. I guessed she was pretty hungry. "Teo are you almost finished? I think she's getting sleepy." I whispered.

"Yeah, I'm just putting the blankets in the crib." I walked into the new nursery, and wasn't it gorgeous. The room had already been a light green color and he put little flower stickers all over the wall. There was a changing station on one side, with little drawers under it for her clothes and diapers. A rocker next to it, and a wooden crib across from the changing area. It put Hope down in her crib and closed the door.

I was so tired. Exhausted, mentally and physically. The day had been so stressful, taking care of a new baby, and I knew I wouldn't be sleeping well for a few months. "Teo?" I asked quickly, a new thought rising in my mind. "What are we going to do with her while we're at school?"

"We'll… um. Take her with us! We can trade her off during classes. I'll take her the first three, and we meet at lunch. Then you take her for the last few classes." I nodded. It sounded like a pretty good plan. But when I woke up the next morning, I was way too tired to go to school.

Hope had woken us up four times in the night with her constant crying. We had to feed her twice and change diapers three of the four times. I told Teo to go to school and that I would care for Hope. So, I was left alone with the baby.

Sokka POV

We had transferred homes to a small town. There were a few markets and some department stores here and there. It wasn't anything huge, only a little bigger than the last place we lived in. Aang and Zuko came with us, as always. They moved everywhere with us, having no family and all. Well, Zuko had a family, but his father was a total ass and his sister was demented. He had an uncle that he very much admired, and they kept in touch.

We were all to start school today at this small high school in the middle of the town. I pulled into the parking lot and helped Katara out of the car. As I rounded the corner of the car, some guy ran into me, causing me to stumble to the ground. "Hey, man! Watch where you're going!" I shouted.

"Sorry dude." He extended his hand out to the ground. Some of his buddies saw the tiff and shouted for him to get going.

"Teo! Hurry up!" I grabbed his hand and he pulled me to my feet. "Dude! Come on!"

"Sorry again, bro. Gotta go!" I dusted off my shirt and continued walking to the last trailer on the right. I was a little lost since it was my first day at the school and everybody seemed to be in quite the hurry. I opened the door to the trailer and the teacher stopped the class and looked directly at me.

"Students, this is our new student. His name is Sokka and he is from.. uh.-"

"America. I lived all over the place. Kind of hard to explain really." I laughed nervously and took my seat. The teacher nodded and took roll. I released a breath of air I hadn't even realized I was holding and put my head down on the desk. The time changes were definitely a pain in the butt, but I was slowly adjusting to them. The teacher went on and on about lectures of things I had learned two years ago, pretty boring, I fell asleep in mere minutes.

Until lunch, the day went by pretty fast. I found myself thinking about home, my home in America where I felt I belonged. Katara and Aang had the same lunch, and Zuko had lunch with me. We had a lot of classes together, almost every single one except for first period. After lunch, we had two more classes and then algebra with Katara and Aang. We were both pretty awful with math, so we were stuck in remedial with them. A few months ago, Aang had worked up the courage to ask Katara out and they couldn't have been happier. I had been rather cautious when they started dating, but they proved themselves, so I dropped the older brother façade. Aang was a good kid.

We were in algebra, so things were moving pretty slow. That Teo kid was in there talking with his buddies about who knows what. I took the liberty to eavesdrop a little. "Yeah, she came home and we went and bought supplies for the baby." Wow, that guy had a kid already, poor girl. "She won't be here for a while, the baby has been keeping her up. We made a plan to just switch off during classes so she could come to school, but we've been getting up in the middle of the night to feed her and change diapers. I mean, she does most of it so I can go to school, but I feel pretty bad." I started to feel worse for the girl he had been talking about. She was only a junior and she already had a baby to worry about. Jeez, that had to suck. Teo stood up and whispered something to the teacher and I saw him mark some things off on the clipboard before taking roll. When Teo sat back down, he looked at me and Katara, Aang, and Zuko and apologized again for knocking me over that morning.

The rest of the week went rather slow as well .We would go through every class and sleep and then go home and sleep. The time changes were really getting to us. I heard whispers through school about the girl who had the baby, but I didn't pay much attention to them. Until algebra that day. I was sitting in my seat with Zuko and Katara, Aang was talking to the teacher about the homework. The door creaked open slowly and I saw Teo come in carrying a baby stroller. With a baby in it. "Come on. Yeah, that's a good girl." He cooed. All of the girls in the room "Oohed" and "Awed" at the little life in the carrier. Teo rolled the stroller over to the seat and went back to the door to help get a diaper bag through the door.

And then she walked through the door.

Her sunglasses plastered to her eyes, and dressed totally different, Toph came in. Her blue highlights were gone and she was dressed like she actually cared what people thought of her. Her blue jeans weren't skinny, they were flare, and she wore a halter top and a scarf. What happened to her? She cooed to the baby, and then it hit me.

Toph had a baby!

Holy. Shit. She had a kid. She had a kid! Toph, my Toph, had a baby! What the hell! Katara, Aang, and Zuko must have recognized her as well because their jaws hit the floor. I stood up from my seat and she tilted her head up a little from bending over. Then, she recognized me and stood straight up. She removed the sunglasses and looked from me to Katara. To Aang and then Zuko.

"Shit." She looked to Teo. "Honey, I gotta go. Watch Hope." She turned and ran from the classroom. I was only able to catch the tears that fell before she slammed the door. Teo looked from me to Katara. He picked up the stroller and went after her. I just sat back down in my chair and ignored all of the looks I was getting from my peers. Katara's jaw was still dropped.

"Was that… Toph?" She asked. I nodded and she gasped. "She has a kid! Oh my god. Sokka, what happened to her?" I didn't know what to answer, I didn't know the answer myself. I was just as dumbstruck and she was. One of Teo's jock friends got up and walked over to us.

"What did you do to her?" He asked. I just shook my head.

"Where does she live?" Katara immediately asked the boy.

"Up on Hutchens road. Apartment 6B, why?" He paused for a minute. "Crap." This guy was really stupid. I got out of my chair and my friends followed me.

"Keys?" Aang tossed me the car keys. I hopped in and started the engine as the others struggled to get in. "Hutchens road. Where is that?"

"Uh, ten minutes from here, take a right at this light and keep going." I ran the red light, not bothering to slow down. Eventually, after driving thirty miles over the speed limit on the wrong side of the road, I saw the small sign that said Hutchens and took a sharp turn down the road. There were nothing but apartment buildings. Ones, twos, threes, fours, fives… and the sixes. I parked the car and jumped through the door. "6B Sokka!"

"Got it!" 6B… 6B…. it was up a few floors, I didn't bother waiting for the elevator. It looked broken anyways. My feet jumped the stairs two and three at a time until I reached the right floor. "Toph! Toph! Open up!" I pounded my fists on her door. "Toph! Come on, Toph! Toph!" The locked unlatched itself and Teo opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" He asked angrily. I tried to open the door, but he was really strong.

"I want to see Toph. Please? She's my best friend." He nodded and let me in to their apartment. I heard the sniffling coming from a bedroom in the back and quickly went to go and check. Sure enough, Toph was holding the baby and trying to stop her crying as she fed her the bottle. She didn't even look up at me, and all I could think of was how perfect she looked. "Hey."

"What are you doing here, Sokka?" Ouch, that hurt. She used my real name, no Snoozles or Meathead. Something was seriously wrong with this.

"I could ask you the same question. Put the baby down. We need to talk." She sighed and put her child in the crib. I led her out into the hall and closed the door to the nursery. "What the hell! Where have you been! We have been looking everywhere for you, Toph! We thought, we thought we had lost you. And we find you, only to see that you got knocked up and had a kid! Do you know how hard I looked for you? I broke into your parents' mansion and got caught, I spent nights awake thinking about what could have happened to you, it's been almost an entire year since we last saw each other! What the hell, Toph? I can't believe you! I was worried sick! And the baby? Did you just go whoring around? This isn't the Toph I knew, she never wore preppy clothes or listened to pop music. Where is the punk BVB Toph? Hmm? Because I don't know who this is." I was screaming, I realized. Toph was crying and I had noticed that maybe I had taken things a little too far. I grabbed her and pulled her into a hug, never letting go. "Oh, Toph. Don't you ever leave again. I missed you so much, we all missed you. It hasn't been the same. Toph, I can't believe you're actually here." Despite her punching and trying to squirm away, I held her tight and stood my ground.

"Let go of me, Sokka! Let go!" She was screaming and crying, punching and kicking, but I wouldn't let her go. What if she disappeared again? What would I do then? I would die. Because… because I loved her.

**Well, that was a long chapter. For a long wait. Sorry guys. I've had things going on in my life lately and haven't had the chance to write. My most sincere apologies. Please review, it gets me motivated.;)**

**-LINZINFOREVER**


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